ENVIRONMENT AND JUNK SCIENCE Comments turned off

CO2 is a climate red herring By W.H. Lippincott

Posted By on June 10th, 2023

https://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2023/06/co2_is_a_climate_red_herring.html

CO2 and other greenhouse gases (GHG) such as methane have been suspected for more than a century of being potentially harmful atmospheric warming agents.  The climate movement began more recently with the advent of the U.N. Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) in 1989 and the release of Al Gore’s prize-winning film An Inconvenient Truth in 2006.  Climate alarm began as “man-made global warming” and, when cooling was observed even as CO2 levels continued to rise, morphed into “climate change.”

Those of us who can look behind the virtue-signaling mantra of climate change understand the theory that man-made carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions from burning oil and gas are dangerously warming the planet.  We can also appreciate the idea that marginal warming may be amplified by increased water vapor and clouds as a result of elevated CO2.  A large number of computer models are built on the presumptions of this theory.

But are our CO2 inputs to the atmosphere a real threat to our magnificent planet?  The evidence tells us no.  Although we are in the midst of a broadly warming period following the end of the most recent ice age, satellite and weather balloon data suggest that the models (and theory) are off by quite a bit.  The models project much more warming than observed in back casts.  That is interesting but perhaps not definitive.  There is also evidence that the atmosphere has slipped into a new cooling period that could lead to the next ice age.

A seminal review paper by Wijngaarden and Happer (here) illustrates a critical limitation of CO2 radiation transfer that makes it impossible for this trace molecule to cause runaway global temperature.  The limitation is known as saturation.  The key figure from the Wijngaarden-Happer paper diagrams the inhibiting effect of various greenhouse gases on infrared radiation to space.  GHGs reduce Earth’s reradiation of incoming shortwave solar radiation to space as longwave heat radiation.  Reduced reradiation of heat means air and surface warming.

NATIONAL NEWS & OPINION Comments turned off

Enough is enough — defend Trump By Clark Wren

Posted By on June 10th, 2023

https://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2023/06/enough_is_enough__defend_trump.html

Throughout most of my life my attitude toward politics has been this: Don’t get involved. People who get wrapped up in politics gain nothing from it and often ruin their own lives. Live life as best as you can, ignore politics, and enjoy the sweet gifts life has to offer with some of God’s plenty. Usually, this philosophy works, but at a certain point, like all philosophies, it breaks down. Then this philosophy becomes willful ignorance, sticking your head in the sand, and maybe even cowardice.

It is a waste of time to say the latest round of indictments against Trump are politically motivated, and it is a waste of time to say we now have a banana republic Department of Justice. You already know this.

The purpose of all these indictments is to wear Trump down, exhaust him, and convince the general public that he certainly must be guilty of something. The law of averages is not on Trump’s side.

The question now for Trump supporters is what to do about it? No, I am not suggesting in any way that you consider an act of terror. However, the time has come to become much more politically active — like the anti-Trump activists in the summer of 2020. This will also involve, most likely, a cost. Most of you reading this are probably a lot like me — average middle Americans who go to work every day, pay their bills and taxes, and play by the rules.

The rules are being abused to get Trump.

I also believe the reason the elites have used every speck of their power against him is because he is an outsider and dared to support the views of average Allan and average Anne. He also dared to challenge permanent Washington and the complicit press: the swamp and the swamp thing. They could not allow this to go unpunished, and they intend to send a message to all future presidential candidates: Never stand against the one party, the uniparty, the Republicrats, the revolting Republicans and the disgusting Democrats, or we will annihilate you.

The cumulative effect of all these indictments is to sway the undecideds and deny Trump the election in 2024. So the will of the people, the vote, has already been compromised. George Soros funded both Alvin Bragg and Letitia James. Special Council Jack Smith is a Democrat.

NATIONAL NEWS & OPINION Comments turned off

One Generation Away From Extinction Maria Bello

Posted By on June 10th, 2023

https://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2023/06/09/one_generation_away_from_extinction_149333.html

Americans are steadily getting used to giving up their freedoms – and as someone who was forced to flee the oppressive dictatorship in Venezuela, that terrifies me.

In Venezuela, even mild criticism of the Maduro regime is treated as a criminal act. For “minor” offenses, you might simply be ridiculed and ostracized by state-controlled propaganda (which is ubiquitous). If you continue to challenge the ruling elite, however, the consequences become more severe – you might be arrested without cause and indefinitely detained, or you might even be subjected to physical torture.

That’s the Venezuela I fled as a teenager when I migrated – legally – to the United States. I escaped a violent, repressive dictatorship.

That wasn’t always the case, though. When my parents were young, Venezuela was a vibrant, prosperous democracy. At one time, foreigners spoke of “Venezuelan Exceptionalism” and our people revered Venezuela’s anti-authoritarian Constitution.

So what happened?

Hugo Chavez – pardoned after a failed coup attempt in 1992 – took advantage of a temporary economic downturn to run for the presidency on a socialist platform, essentially bribing the voters with promises of lavish spending on education, healthcare, and social programs. 

To pay for all this, Chavez gutted the productive portions of the Venezuelan economy. When punitive tax rates didn’t generate enough money, he forcibly seized control of oil companies, telecoms, and other industries, using them as a personal slush fund for his economic Ponzi schemes.

Predictably, this caused an outcry from those who had their possessions taken from them by jack-booted thugs. Chavez responded by imprisoning those who dared to speak out against his illegal abuses. His successor, Nicolas Maduro, uses the same tactics to keep the Venezuelan people from overthrowing his regime.

MEDICINE AND HEALTH, NATIONAL NEWS & OPINION Comments turned off

Medical Journal’s False Consensus on ‘Gender-Affirming Care’ Springer has decided to retract a paper, that received activist blowback, on a technicality. By Leor Sapir and Colin Wright

Posted By on June 10th, 2023

https://www.wsj.com/articles/medical-journals-false-consensus-on-gender-affirming-care-sex-change-procedure-transgender-f10cd52b?mod=opinion_lead_pos7

A federal court on Tuesday temporarily blocked enforcement of a Florida law that prohibits the administration of sex-change procedures on children under 18. The opinion, by Judge Robert L. Hinkle, leans heavily on medical and scientific rationales to argue that it is unconstitutional to ban the use of puberty blockers, cross-sex hormones and surgery on teenagers who feel alienated from their bodies.

Twenty states maintain age restrictions on sex-change procedures, and the problem they face is explaining to judges that American medical associations aren’t following the best available evidence. This is known to European health authorities and has been reported in such prestigious publications as the British Medical Journal. But American judges need some way to evaluate conflicting scientific authorities—especially as institutions responsible for ensuring that medical professionals have access to high-quality research aren’t functioning as they should.

A case in point: Springer, an academic publishing giant, has decided to retract an article that appeared last month in the Archives of Sexual Behavior. The retraction is expected to take effect June 12.

The article’s authors are listed as Michael Bailey and Suzanna Diaz. Mr. Bailey is a well-respected scientist, with dozens of publications to his name. The other author writes under a pseudonym to protect the privacy of her daughter, who suffers from gender dysphoria.

Their new paper is based on survey responses from more than 1,600 parents who reported that their children, who were previously comfortable in their bodies, suddenly declared a transgender identity after extensive exposure to social media and peer influence. Mr. Bailey’s and Ms. Diaz’s sin was to analyze rapid onset gender dysphoria, or ROGD. Gender activists hate any suggestion that transgender identities are anything but innate and immutable. Even mentioning the possibility that trans identity is socially influenced or a phase threatens their claims that children can know early in life they have a permanent transgender identity and therefore that they should have broad access to permanent body-modifying and sterilizing procedures.

NATIONAL NEWS & OPINION Comments turned off

A Destructive Trump Indictment Do prosecutors understand the forces they are unleashing?

Posted By on June 10th, 2023

https://www.wsj.com/articles/donald-trump-indictment-classified-documents-jack-smith-mar-a-lago-biden-justice-department-81591082?mod=hp_opin_pos_1

Whether you love or hate Donald Trump, his indictment by President Biden’s Justice Department is a fraught moment for American democracy. For the first time in U.S. history, the prosecutorial power of the federal government has been used against a former President who is also running against the sitting President. This is far graver than the previous indictment by a rogue New York prosecutor, and it will roil the 2024 election and U.S. politics for years to come.

Special counsel Jack Smith announced the indictment in a brief statement on Friday. But no one should be fooled: This is Attorney General Merrick Garland’s responsibility. Mr. Garland appointed Mr. Smith to provide political cover, but Mr. Garland, who reports to Mr. Biden, has the authority to overrule a special counsel’s recommendation. Americans will inevitably see this as a Garland-Biden indictment, and they are right to think so.**

The indictment levels 37 charges against Mr. Trump that are related to his handling of classified documents, including at his Mar-a-Lago club, since he left the White House. Thirty-one of the counts are for violating the ancient and seldom-enforced Espionage Act for the “willful retention of national defense information.”

But it’s striking, and legally notable, that the indictment never mentions the Presidential Records Act (PRA) that allows a President access to documents, both classified and unclassified, once he leaves office. It allows for good-faith negotiation with the National Archives. Yet the indictment assumes that Mr. Trump had no right to take any classified documents.

This doesn’t fit the spirit or letter of the PRA, which was written by Congress to recognize that such documents had previously been the property of former Presidents. If the Espionage Act means Presidents can’t retain any classified documents, then the PRA is all but meaningless. This will be part of Mr. Trump’s defense.

FOREIGN POLICY Comments turned off

‘No Joke’: The Baffling Silence by The Biden Administration, UN and EU on Iran’s Human Rights Abuses by Majid Rafizadeh

Posted By on June 10th, 2023

https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/19705/irans-human-rights-abuses

[J]ust a few days after the regime executed two young men, Yousef Mehrad and Sadrollah Fazeli Zare, for “blasphemy,” Iran was rewarded by being appointed chair of the United Nations Human Rights Council 2023 Social Forum, as well as being handsomely compensated by the European Union.

“Iran human rights role ‘like granting Bin Laden a Nobel Peace Prize’.” — The Telegraph.

As if to underscore this triumph, right after the UN appointment, Iran’s regime on May 19 proceeded to execute three more men — Majid Kazemi, Saleh Mirhashemi and Saeed Yaghoubi – for having participated in anti-regime protests.

“[Iranian] Authorities Execute Over 60 People in Past 2 Weeks.” — Human Rights Watch, May 12, 2023.

“The Iranian authorities’ dramatic escalation of executions in recent weeks is a serious violation of the right to life and should bring international condemnation… Since late April, the Iranian authorities have executed at least 60 people, including an Iranian-Swedish national on alleged terror-related charges. Many were executed after unfair trials or for charges, such as drug offenses as well and two executions for ‘blasphemy,’ that under international law should never result in the death penalty.” — Human Rights Watch, May 12, 2023.

So, Germany, which preaches about human rights and its “feminist foreign policy”, has actually increased its business with Iran….

“We believe it is time to hold the leadership of the Islamic Republic of Iran to account for its crimes…. We urge your nations to stand with the Iranian people in their quest for change and to take decisive steps against the current regime. This includes blacklisting the Revolutionary Guards (IRGC) and holding regime officials accountable for their crimes against humanity.” — Letter signed May 23, 2023 by former Vice President Mike Pence and 107 other former world leaders. Fox News; May 23, 2023.

It is abhorrent and unacceptable that the EU and the UN keep propping up a regime that is a world leader in executions and violations of human rights — and that will not hesitate to use its nuclear weapons capability as well as the threat of it.

Not only have the Biden Administration, the EU, and the UN have been silent in the face of the Iranian regime’s increasing human rights violations, but just a few days after the regime executed two young men, Yousef Mehrad and Sadrollah Fazeli Zare, for “blasphemy,” Iran was rewarded by being appointed chair of the United Nations Human Rights Council 2023 Social Forum, as well as being handsomely compensated by the European Union.

WORLD NEWS Comments turned off

Taqiyya: Iran Actually Boasts About Deceiving the West in Nuclear Talks by Raymond Ibrahim

Posted By on June 9th, 2023

https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/19704/taqiyya-iran

Iran’s Supreme Guide, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei “used the Islamic concept of ‘Taqiyya’ to describe the regime’s decision to accept the 2015 JCPOA nuclear deal with the West. Taqiyya means the permissibility to deny or conceal one’s real beliefs to secure a worthy goal.” — iranintl.com, May 20, 2023.

“Khamenei’s emphasis on “expediency” as the third principle in foreign policy was particularly notable, as he urged flexibility “in necessary instances” and circumventing “tough barriers” to continue a set course.” — iranintl.com, May 20, 2023

If it was not clear what “heroic flexibility” meant then, it probably should be clear by now. Reports consistently document that Iran has been cheating since day one.

“[Khamenei] said that when a revolution hits a tough rock on its path, it need not break its head against it; the wisest course would be to try and go around it.” — Amir Taheri, “Iran: Heroic Flexibility Returns,” June 4, 2023.

” [A]l- Taqiyya is with the tongue only, (not the heart).” — Jalal al-Din al-Suyuti in his book, “al-Durr al-Manthoor Fi al-Tafsir al- Ma’athoor,” quoting Ibn Abbas.

Taqiyya is actually all around us. Iran pretends that its nuclear program is just for peaceful purposes. Some Muslim pretend to convert to Christianity (past and present), or an Islamic gunman gains entrance inside a church by feigning interest in Christian prayers.

It should not be surprising, therefore, that Khamenei is relying on taqiyya once again. What is surprising is that the Biden Administration is falling for it – after being told it would be used – and allowing itself to be sucker-punched, or pretending to allow it.

In 1994, PLO leader Yasser Arafat, after he signed the Oslo Accord with Israel, justified his actions by saying, “I see this agreement as being no more than the agreement signed between our Prophet Muhammad and the Quraysh in Mecca”— referring to a truce, the Treaty of Hudaibiyah, which Muhammad broke as soon as he had regained power and was able to attack.

Similarly, Khamenei, by referring to taqiyya in Iran’s agreement to a nuclear deal with the West, is signaling that Iran is only going along for “expediency” — until it finds itself in a position to realize its nuclear aspirations and renege.

[I]s there a single authority representing the West at these international nuclear talks that knows — let alone cares about — any of this? Or is the fix already in?

MOVIES AND TELEVISION Comments turned off

NURIT GREENGER: The Most Important Documentary On California

Posted By on June 9th, 2023

https://leavingcamovie.com/

“Leaving California: The Untold Story” is a feature-length documentary that portrays California’s growing challenges, causing an unprecedented mass exodus. Siyamak Khorrami, television host of California Insider and editor of The Epoch Times Southern California, takes viewers on an intimate journey of love, loss, tragedy, and hope as California residents face the prospect of leaving their beloved state. About 700,000 people moved out of the state within the last two years.

NATIONAL NEWS & OPINION Comments turned off

Former President Donald Trump Charged in Classified Documents Probe The ongoing investigation into January 6, however, poses far greater legal jeopardy for Trump. By Julie Kell

Posted By on June 9th, 2023

 https://amgreatness.com/2023/06/08/former-president-donald-trump-charged-in-classified-documents-probe/

Former President Donald J. Trump has been indicted in the district court in Miami on federal counts stemming from Special Counsel Jack Smith’s months-long investigation into Trump’s handling of classified documents.

The indictment represents the first time in U.S. history a former president will face criminal charges. Trump announced the indictment Thursday night on Truth Social. “The corrupt Biden Administration has informed my attorneys that I have been Indicted, seemingly over the Boxes Hoax, even though Joe Biden has 1850 Boxes at the University of Delaware, additional Boxes in Chinatown, D.C., with even more Boxes at the University of Pennsylvania, and documents strewn all over his garage floor where he parks his Corvette, and which is “secured” by only a garage door that is paper thin, and open much of the time,” Trump said in a post at 7:21 p.m. eastern time.

He will surrender to authorities in Miami on Tuesday.

Exact charges are unclear; the New York Times reports that the former president faces seven counts. Those charges potentially include obstruction of justice, conspiracy, and unlawful retention of classified material. 

Attorney General Merrick Garland, appointed by Joe Biden in January 2021, named Smith special counsel last year to take over Garland’s existing investigations into both the classified documents matter and Trump’s alleged role in the events of January 6. “Such an appointment underscores the Department’s commitment to both independence and accountability,” Garland said in a November 2022 announcement.

After months of accusations by the National Archives and Records Administration that Trump-era government documents were missing in violation of the Presidential Records Act, the agency retrieved 15 boxes of records from Trump’s primary residence in Palm Beach, Florida in January 2022. The following month, NARAs inspector general sent a letter to the Justice Department seeking a criminal investigation into Trump, claiming the boxes contained “newspapers, magazines, printed news articles, photos, miscellaneous print-outs, notes, presidential correspondence, personal and post-presidential records, and a lot of classified records.”

BOOKS Comments turned off

New Book Available for Pre-Order The definitive account of America’s cultural revolution, from 1968 to the present. Christopher Rufo

Posted By on June 9th, 2023

Now available for pre-order on Amazon.

Here’s the synopsis from the book jacket:

For decades, left-wing radicals patiently built a revolution in the shadows. Then suddenly, after the death of George Floyd, their ideas exploded into American life.

Corporations denounced the United States as a “system of white supremacy.” Universities pushed racially segregated programs that forced students to address their racial and sexual “privilege.” And schools injected critical race theory in the classroom, dividing children into “oppressor” and “oppressed.”

In this stunning new book, Christopher F. Rufo exposes the inner history of the left-wing intellectuals and militants who slowly and methodically captured America’s institutions, with the goal of subverting them from within. With profiles of Herbert Marcuse, Angela Davis, Paulo Freire, and Derrick Bell, Rufo shows how activists have profoundly influenced American culture with an insidious mix of Marxism and racialist ideology. They’ve replaced “equality” with “equity,” subverted individual rights in favor of group identity, and convinced millions of Americans that racism is endemic in all of society. Their ultimate goal? To replace the constitution with a race-based redistribution regime, administered by “diversity and inclusion” commissars within the bureaucracy.

America’s Cultural Revolution is the definitive account of the radical Left’s long march through the institutions. Through deep historical research, Rufo shows how the ideas first formulated in the pamphlets of the Weather Underground, Black Panther Party, and Black Liberation Army have been sanitized and adopted as the official ideology of America’s prestige institutions, from the Ivy League universities to the boardrooms of Wal-Mart, Disney, and Bank of America. But his book is not just an exposé. It is a meticulously-researched and passionate refutation of the arguments of CRT—and a roadmap for the counter-revolution to come.